Why Prince Harry Would Have to Get the Queen’s Permission to Propose to Meghan Markle

Last November, Kensington Palace issued an unusually strongly worded statement, roundly criticizing the treatment that Meghan Markle and her family had received from the media. In the process, the statement acknowledged the fact that Markle is Prince Harry’s girlfriend. Since then, the couple’s relationship seems to have only continued to gain momentum. The pair have reportedly taken various trips together, and Markle has been introduced to both Prince William and Kate Middleton.

But if Prince Harry plans to take their relationship to the next level, by proposing to Markle at some point in the future, he will need to get permission from his grandmother, the queen. Yes, most people do not need to get their grandmother’s permission before they propose. But for Prince Harry, it is actually the law.

In the 18th century, King George III, who is remembered best for losing the American Revolutionary War and for his mental instability, passed The Royal Marriages Act 1772. The act stated that any of his direct descendants would have to be granted permission from the ruling sovereign before marrying, otherwise their union would be considered null and void. The impetus for the act was the fact that King George disapproved of the new wife of his brother, Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn. Not long after, the law was evoked again. Three marriages of King George’s seven sons (yes, seven) were blocked or deemed illegitimate by the monarch.

And while the law was never formally invoked during the 20th century, its shadow has loomed large over the British Royal Family. Despite the fact that he himself was king, King Edward VIII had to abdicate the throne in order to marry the divorced Wallis Simpson. (His abdication decree included a clause that made him exempt from the Royal Marriages Act, so that his brother King George VI would not be able to block their union.) Moreover, despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth never formally prohibited Princess Margaret from marrying Group Captain Townsend, their marriage was never able to take place. Even Prince Ernst August of Hanover had to ask for Queen Elizabeth’s permission to marry Princess Caroline of Monaco in 1999.

In 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron proposed the Perth Agreement, which limited the law to only the next six people in line for the throne. The agreement was adopted, but since Prince Harry is currently fifth in the line of succession (after Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte), he must be granted permission from the queen in order to marry. Luckily, the queen has never denied a request.